


The monsters in the art studio

by mushigo_palm_spores



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Gothic, Humour, Short Story, lockdown - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28534590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mushigo_palm_spores/pseuds/mushigo_palm_spores
Summary: Short story in which a group of monsters and gremlins take over an art studio whilst the students are in lockdown to create their own demonic art.In other words me pining after my art studio. Hoping to translate this and publish it in the local newspaper.
Kudos: 2





	The monsters in the art studio

One Monday morning, a single lonely _Straßenbahn_ came rattling through the streets of the deserted _Altstadt_. All shops were closed, the world was quarantined and so the only witnesses to the bizarre spectacle about to unfold were the pigeons that dotted the abandoned streets.

When the _Straßenbahn_ stopped at the market square, an odd little assortment stepped out into the early sunlight. Their movements were awkward and ungainly. Masks, sunglasses and wide rimmed hats fully hid their faces from view. However as they slowly and clumsily made their way through the abandoned remains of the Christmas market, the odd tail would peep out from under a trenchcoat, or a slipping glove would briefly reveal some glistening, reptilian skin. The last member of the group even left a trail of sooty, ashen footprints in his wake.

This outlandish little carnival of creatures hobbled down the streets, past closed down shops, drugstores and supermarkets. Their destination was the former _Xenos Kaufhaus_ , a beautiful old building that had been taken over by the local art university and turned into studio space. The large windows on the bottom floor had been covered with paper, however, if you went a little further down the street, the students had cut a little window through which you could peep in. 

The odd little party now gathered around this window. They had 

not been the first to arrive. The vast expanse of studio space was already alive with activity. Bat wings beat against the walls, creatures of all shapes and sizes clambered up and down the banisters, carrying chairs, boxes and canvases. There was the repetitive sound of toilets being experimentally flushed and a group of goblins was mucking around with the lights. A large yellow foot with multiple eyes was idling around beside the wide ornamental staircase.

All were absorbed in the task of bringing the building back to life. What artworks the students had not been able to take into quarantine with them were moved aside as they rearranged the space to their liking. Easels were turned this way and that, the paper covering the floors was renewed, the projectors were fought over and there were several passionate squabbles as to whether or not the paints were edible. Meanwhile the mirrors on the pillars were carefully scrubbed and cleaned, only to be splattered with dirt again less than a second later from whatever nonsense was going on nearest by. It was all a chaotic mess. 

And for the first time in weeks, a light burned inside the former _Xenos Kaufhaus_.

After a couple of days and a lot of messing around, familiarising themselves with the building, the monsters settled down and began to create their demonic art. On some days the place would be completely silent as they hung from the ceiling, sat on the bannisters or squatted at their desks, completely focused on their work. Other days the place would be filled with deafening noise and mischief as they fought over paper, pestered their neighbours, dropped things from the ceiling and chittered and argued among themselves.

But some destinct demonic art styles were starting to develop. Some of them had discovered realism for themselves: beautiful intricate drawings of the building, of their heathen companions, of the city outside. Otheres preferred abstraction: anything ranging from colour studies, collages and 3D relief, to hellish landscapes full of tortured shapes, grime and horror. Yet others preferred to sculpt. These were the most troublesome, constantly bringing in materials and having nowhere to put them within the disorderly scrawl. 

Proudly the monsters hung their finished works on the walls, displaying them in the windows and spreading them out on the floor. Entire constellations were forming in some places, a complete flying hazard. Sometimes the monsters would stop working and walk/crawl/scuttle/lumber/fly around the building to admire the work of others and gather inspiration (or just to start more mischief.) 

The hand sanitizer at the entrance was a particular point of fascination. Anybody who had anything even vaguely hand shaped would stop by it and take a squirt upon entering the building and they were all very upset when, in a matter of days, it had run out.

At night some also slept in the building, sprawled across desks or the sofas that the art students had left behind, hanging from the ceiling or sitting on the roof. 

For a month, squawking, hooting and chirping were the only sounds coming from within the lifeless _Altstadt_. But then, one day, a pedestrian walked past the building. On the next day, two pedestrians walked past. The monsters time was up, the vaccine had started rolling out.

In a disorderly scurry, the monsters began to put the building back to rights. In their brief time here in the upper world, each had learned, each had grown and developed and as they gathered together their art, they admired it with pride. Some already talked about opening up their own demonic studio at home. And so, although they were sad to relinquish the building again, they all agreed that they were glad to have had it in the first place.

And so their holiday had come to an end. One early Monday morning, clear sunlight shone once more through the windows of an empty studio. All the easels had been replaced in their original positions, the floors had been scrubbed, the windows and pillars cleaned and the hand sanitizer had been refreshed. Fresh paints and empty canvases awaited the students and on the door, a large paper sign written messily in red paint said "thank you"

**Author's Note:**

> Straßenbahn = tram, Altstadt = The old part of a town (lots of historical buildings and such), Kaufhaus = supermarket and Xenos = a German supermarket chain


End file.
